The Figure Skating Federation of Russia and the Skating Union of Belarus were each permitted to nominate one skater or team from each discipline to participate at this event as a means to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each nominee was required to pass a special screening process to assess whether they had displayed any active support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or any contractual links to the Russian or Belarusian military or other national security agencies.[2][3]Petr Gumennik and Adeliia Petrosian, both of Russia, won the men's and women's events, respectively. Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang of China won the pairs event, while Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius of Lithuania won the ice dance event.
Changes to preliminary assignments
In May 2025, the International Skating Union (ISU) announced the Russian and Belarusian skaters who had been granted AIN status. No Russian pair skating and ice dance team nominations were approved by the ISU.[4][5] The ISU published the initial list of entrants on 20 August 2025.[6][7][8][9]
Men competing in single skating first performed their short program on Saturday, 20 September, while women performed their short program on Friday, 19 September.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[14] the short program had to include the following elements:
For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.[15]
Women performed their free skates on Saturday, 20 September, while men performed theirs on Sunday, 21 September.[1] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[16]
Couples performed their free skates on Saturday, 20 September.[1] The free skate performance could last no more than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one has to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.[18]
Couples then performed their free dances on Sunday, 21 September.[1] The free dance performance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.[19]
Judging
For the 2025–2026 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps, spins, and lifts–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[20] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, an average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total element score.[21] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[22]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[24] The total element score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[25]
Petr Gumennik of Russia earned a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics as an "Individual Neutral Athlete". Gumennik led after the short program and despite some errors on his quadruple Lutz and quadruple loop, he finished first in the free skate and won the competition. The other four quota spots in men's singles were awarded to South Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, and Chinese Taipei. As Mexico's dominant men's skater, Donovan Carrillo will undoubtedly be chosen to compete at the Olympics. "It's what I was dreaming, what I've been working for, and I'm just so happy that it's now a reality and also excited for the next chapter," Carillo stated after learning that he had qualified for the Olympics.[27]Li Yu-Hsiang of Taiwan finished in fifth place, earning Chinese Taipei its first Olympic berth since David Liu competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics.[27]
Adeliia Petrosian of Russia and Viktoriia Safonova of Belarus each earned a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics as "Individual Neutral Athletes". The other three quota spots in women's singles were awarded to Georgia, Belgium, and China. Petrosian had led after the short program, and maintained her lead with a "passionate tango program" that featured seven clean triple jumps. Safonova had been in seventh place after the short program, but rallied back in the free skate to finish in fourth place. Anastasiia Gubanova had had a very disappointing performance at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, which left Georgia without a berth for the Olympics, but she redeemed herself with a silver medal finish and a quota spot for Georgia. Likewise, Loena Hendrickx, who had missed almost the entire 2024–25 season due to injury, was able to secure a second quota spot for Belgium with her "sophisticated flamenco program" that featured five triple jumps and precise spins. "For me, this competition was very important after coming back from my injury; I am proud to stand here again. I know I can do better, but I am satisfied and happy how this competition went," Hendrickx stated afterward.[29]
The three quota spots in pair skating were awarded to China, Armenia, and Japan. Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang, who had won the 2025 Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, finished first in both the short program and the free skate, securing another berth for China at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Although Zhang and Huang won this competition, they are still not guaranteed a spot at the Olympics as China has several dominant pairs teams."[29] At this competition, we showed our level from what we can do in practice," Huang stated afterward.[29]Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin finished in second place, earning Armenia its first Olympic berth in pair skating since Maria Krasiltseva and Artem Znachkov competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan had finished in fourth place after the short program, but rallied back in the free skate to finish third overall and earn Japan another Olympic berth.[29]
The four quota spots in ice dance were awarded to Lithuania, Australia, Spain, and China. Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius won the ice dance event by a significant margin. They had narrowly missed out on earning Lithuania a quota spot to the 2026 Winter Olympics when they finished in twenty-first place at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.[32] Their bid to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics had also been thwarted when Reed's application for Lithuanian citizenship was denied.[33] "We're there to perform, we're there to place, and our goals are way, way higher and, just really, really looking forward to representing Lithuania," Reed stated.[32]Holly Harris and Jason Chan had also narrowly missed out on competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and also narrowly missed out on earning Australia an Olympic berth at the 2025 World Championships. They finished in second place in both the rhythm dance and free dance. Sofía Val and Asaf Kazimov of Spain had been in fifth place after the rhythm dance, but lucked out when Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita of Japan, who had been in fourth place after the rhythm dance, scored lower enough in the free dance to allow Val and Kazimov to earn Spain a second quota spot in ice dance.[32]
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Petr Gumennik 
Zhang Jiaxuan 
Allison Reed 
